Andrew Penny was born in Hull and entered the Royal Manchester College of Music in 1971. As a postgraduate he was the first holder of the Rothschild Scholarship in Conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music. He also studied with Sir Edward Downes and at the BBC Conductors Seminar in 1985.

Since 1992 he has made over 50 recordings for the Naxos and Marco Polo labels. Much of the repertoire is British music and includes symphonies by Arnold and Havergal Brian, film music by Vaughan Williams and Walton, theatre music by Sullivan and Holbrooke, and light music by Coates and Arnold. His complete cycle of Arnold’s nine symphonies was produced in time for the composer’s 80th birthday in October 2001 and became BBC Music Magazine’s top recommendation.

Penny has been on the instrumental music staff at Hymers College since 1977 and is the longest serving musical director of the Hull Philharmonic Orchestra. He was awarded the MBE for services to music in the Queen’s Birthday Honours of 2014.

Maestro’s Musings – Jeremy Siepmann talks to the British conductor Andrew Penny